As Limp As A Bone Fish
by star54kar
Summary: What would happen if Frodo was alive, aware, and had all his senses intact when Shelob’s sting paralyzes him.


**As Limp As A Bone Fish**

Rating: PG-13 for now, (may possibly change to R, for violence in later chapters)

Warnings: AU, Violence

Summary: What would happen if Frodo was alive, aware, and had all his senses intact when Shelob's sting paralyzes him.

Disclaimer: These characters and their journey are not mine. They belong to Tolken, and the movie version belongs to PJ, New Line, and all that jazz. I don't own anything and I'm writing this for fun with absolutely no intention of receiving any money for it. Ever.

Authors Note: For the purposes of this story I am going primarily with the movie's version of events, although elements from the book will also be included. Events leading up to the beginning of this story have occurred normally. I have also shamelessly stolen and reworked some lines from both the movie and the book to fit in with the context of this story. This is my first LOTR fan fiction attempt, so please be kind and review.

**Chapter 1**

I creep carefully forward through the mountain passageway. The ring weighs heavily on me and I cling to the rock face trying to gain strength and renewed determination to go on. As I edge closer to the fearful tower that looms in the not so distant distance, my thoughts drift toward my dear Sam, and the last time I saw my beloved, and faithful friend.

I see his beautiful, kind, and loving face shatter with grief and betrayal as I tell him to go home; choosing to continue on with Gollum. Leaving my dearest friend collapsing in a heap in a corner of that retched staircase, his body shaking with sobs as I firmly and purposely leave him behind.

"Oh Sam," I say softly, "I'm so sorry Sam. For everything."

My own body is weak from hunger and fatigue, but there is nothing to do but move forward, and so I do. Closer and closer to Mordor, and Mt. Doom, where this accursed ring can at last be destroyed once and for all.

A sudden noise, like a pebble falling down the mountainside, grabs my attention and fills me with dread. I abruptly turn around to face whatever peril lurks behind me. My recent and nearly deadly encounters with the giant spider and Gollum are still all too near. I quickly survey the area, but see nothing. I hear nothing except the sounds of my own heavy breathing and the panicked beat of my heart as it drums in my ears. If anything my uneasiness intensifies, and I cautiously turn back toward my original path, intending to make a break for it and, hopefully, find a suitable place to hide.

As I complete my turn I am met with the terrifying underbelly of the giant spider, its stinger poised and ready to strike, like a deadly dagger. Before I have time to react, it has already pierced the soft flesh of my stomach. The sharp pain is agonizing as it tears into me, and I try to react with a cry of pain. Surprisingly, only a strangled moan manages to escape my lips. I begin to panic when I find I cannot even lift my hand to press to my wound. I feel myself foam slightly at the mouth but can neither spit nor wipe it away. The next thing I know I am falling backwards as my legs go limp and are no longer able to support my weight. My arms are flailing uselessly at my sides. I have never fallen before in such a manner, knowing that I cannot brace my self for the impending impact with the ground.

That impact never comes and I am faced with something utterly more horrifying. My eyes seem to have frozen in their sockets for I cannot shift my gaze, or close my eyes, but must continue staring straight ahead, seeing all that crosses my fixed line of vision. I am forced to watch, alive and aware, a prisoner of my own body, as I am scooped up by a couple of the spider's limbs an instant before I would have hit the ground. I desperately try to scream, kick, and attempt to free myself from its grasp as it winds me in the sticky, ropelike webbing that I so recently believed I had escaped from. Not even the slightest movement, or even the faintest sound did I manage to make. I could do nothing but mentally scream my horror and anguish.

I am spun around and around and I am now fully entangled in physical bonds to match my mental ones. I despair for my friends, for now my quest has surely failed. It was all for naught. I have come so far, only to be eaten alive near the borders of Mordor. My mind is racing in terror, imagining the torments I am sure to endure before this creature devours me. I am completely helpless, and have lost all hope of survival when I hear a voice that I never dreamed I would ever hear again.

"Let him go you filth!"

Sam? Sam! My Sam had come! My heart filled at once with both hope and fear. Hope that I may not die, and fear that the horrible spider will overcome my brave Sam.

"Let him go!" Sam cries again, and I find myself dropped abruptly on the ground. The impact is rough on my still body, and I am grateful that I have landed on my back; otherwise my face would have been slammed into the ground while I was powerless to prevent it.

"You will not touch him again!" Sam's voice rang out as he continued to challenge the spider. "Come on and finish it!"

They have passed out of my line of sight, which has now been partially obstructed by the web that binds me, but they are close enough to my prone form to sound as if they were right on top of me. I try to follow what's going on by the sounds of the struggle, and suddenly a sword flies over my head. I am scared it will hit me for an instant and then I hear it crash loudly to the ground a few feet away from me.

Oh no! If Sam has lost his sword he must really be in trouble. The sounds of the struggle have not ceased, which while terrifying, means that Sam has not been stung with the same dreadful venom that is responsible for my current incapacitated state.

I hear Sam's cries of aggression and fear, and each one feels like a blade to my heart. Should Sam be killed in this fight, or meant to meet the fate I now face I will never forgive myself. However, I am ripped from these morbid fears when there is a deafeningly loud howl of pain that could only be coming from the spider. I guess Sam must have recovered his sword. If I was able to, I would have sighed in relief.

"Get back!" Sam called out as the spider cries out in pain. Sam continues to make aggressive noises, and a few moments later the howling stopped.

"Mr. Frodo!" Sam exclaims, racing to my side. He kneels over me and rips the webbing from my face, and in his haste some of the spider's blood falls from his hands onto my face. My instinct to flinch yielded no results. I try to thank Sam, but I find I am still unable to move or speak. I'm worried now. If I cannot manage to respond and soon, Sam will think that I am gone!

**TBC…**


End file.
